Andrew Griffith reappointed as City minister by Sunak
Andrew Griffith has today been reappointed as City minister as a part of Rishi Sunak’s latest tranche of frontbench appointments.
Griffith, a close Boris Johnson ally, retains the portfolio as a part of his role as economic secretary to the Treasury – a junior ministerial role in the department.
The former Sky executive had been tasked by Liz Truss to help put forward the UK’s long-awaited reforms to retained EU financial services laws.
The package was going to be brought forward this month by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, however there is now no set date for it to go ahead.
Griffith tweeted today that his goals in office were “bolstering the UK’s international competitiveness, unleashing investment and facilitating economic growth across the country”.
Griffith is likely to have a key role in speaking to City executives concerned about reports that chancellor Jeremy Hunt is considering an effective tax hike on banks.
Sunak, when he was chancellor, vowed to cut the bank surcharge from 8 to 3 per cent when Corporation Tax for the country’s most profitable firms increases six percentage points to 25 per cent next year.
However, chancellor Jeremy Hunt is now considering keeping the surcharge at 8 per cent to help plug the £30bn+ gap in the UK’s fiscal position.
A City insider said Sunak’s rise to Prime Minister this week has left people in the Square Mile questioning “how does this all interact with the speculation around a potential windfall tax on the banks”.